NEWARK, N.J. — The tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport is a restless beast, humming with jets that should be slicing through the sky. But these days, too many are stuck, baking under the Jersey sun, as a dire shortage of air traffic controllers threatens to choke one of the nation’s busiest hubs just as the summer travel season revs up.
On April 29, the Federal Aviation Administration sounded the alarm: Newark’s control tower is running on fumes, with staffing levels so thin that delays are piling up like luggage on a broken carousel. The agency, already grappling with a nationwide controller deficit, admitted the problem isn’t going away soon. By May 2, officials were bracing travelers for a rough ride, warning that flights into Newark could face holdups of up to five hours. Five hours. That’s enough time to watch two in-flight movies and still have change for a stale airport pretzel.
The numbers tell a grim story. The FAA’s latest reports show Newark’s air traffic control team is operating at barely 60% of its needed strength. Across the country, the agency is short some 3,000 controllers, a gap that’s been widening for years. Efforts to hire and train replacements are moving, but not fast enough. New controllers need up to three years to get fully certified, a timeline that does little for the family trying to make it to Grandma’s for Memorial Day.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, scrambling to respond, rolled out new initiatives on May 1. They’re boosting recruitment, streamlining training, and even offering signing bonuses to lure fresh talent. But officials were blunt: these are long-term fixes. For now, travelers are left to deal with the fallout. Summer, with its crush of vacationers and business fliers, is expected to push Newark’s creaky system to the brink.
It’s not just Newark feeling the pinch. The ripple effects are hitting airports nationwide, as controllers juggle complex flight patterns with skeleton crews. A tech glitch in late April didn’t help, snarling Newark’s operations further when a key radar system went haywire. Repairs were made, but the incident exposed just how fragile the system is when every controller is already stretched thin.
Airlines, caught in the crossfire, are doing what they can. Some are tweaking schedules, spacing out flights to ease the pressure on Newark’s overworked tower. But with demand for summer travel projected to hit record highs—up 6% from last year, per industry forecasts—there’s only so much wiggle room. Passengers are being urged to book early, check flight statuses obsessively, and maybe pack a little extra patience.
At Newark, the mood is tense. Ground crews hustle under the weight of impatient travelers, while pilots wait for clearance that comes slower than a Jersey Turnpike traffic jam. The FAA insists safety isn’t compromised, with strict protocols keeping planes from getting too cozy in the sky. Still, the agency’s own data shows on-time performance at Newark dipping below 70% in recent weeks, a stat that stings for anyone who’s ever missed a connection.
The fix? More controllers, better tech, and time—none of which are in abundant supply. For now, Newark’s runways remain a bottleneck, and the summer travel surge is just weeks away.